Elizabethtown, Ky

Well, we have been here for almost two weeks.  We were only planning to stay one week.  Would you believe it was snowing when we got here.  Well, it has snowed off and on while we have been here.  It is cold.  Tom & I decided we do not like the cold weather.  I look at what the weather is like in Cheney-town, and it is comparable to what it is in Elizabethtown.
   We came to spend the time with Andy and his family during his 40th birthday.  We went to the gun shooting range for Andy's 40th birthday.  Andy, Erika, Mitch and Alex are pretty good at hitting the target.  Mitch was determined to get me out there.  Someone obviously needs to teach me how to hold a gun before I ever pull the trigger.  I am so far away from knowing what I am doing on a gun range.  I was so really out of my element.  Big time!  
   We went to the Swopes Museum again.  They let Tom set in the $4,000,000 all original non-restored Packard.  Tom was determined to go the the Corvette factory.  Would you believe this is the one time of the year they are closed to the public because "they are working on the 2014 corvette plans" and cannot let anyone see what they are doing.  It is a big secret.  So we just drove around the outside and took pictures.  We went through the museum last year, when we were here.
   We went to the Jim Beam Distillery  and got to help do some bottling of the whiskey.  They would not let us keep what we bottled, though.  Darn it anyways!  It was fun.
   We went to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory and we got to see how bats are made.  As you can see, they gave us our very own bats.  They are rather pint sized in comparison to the real thing, but hey, I am not fussy.  I think my bat is pretty cool.

   From here we are headed south.  Some place where the sun is shining and the air is warm.  Much warmer!    Talk to you soon.  Patty & Tom

Pigeon Forge, TN

We went to Pigeon Forge, TN, thinking we would go to Dolly wood   The joke was on us.  They are closed until March.  We did go to some really good shows while there, however.  The Hatfields' & McCoys' and Comedy Barn.  We truly enjoyed ourselves.  There was a store there that was Stages West.  We just had to check it out.  It had some pretty neat stuff in it.  And of course the Happy Days diner.  What can I say!  We also went to the Bush Bean factory.  We did not get to meet Jake the talking dog, personally, so obviously we did not get the secret recipe.  We did a get a picture taken with him, however.  We did get to see some of his movies.  They serve a very good lunch at their factory, that is for sure.  Tom got a pretty good picture of the flying pig.  We are now in Lexington.  It is colder here than it is Cheney-town.  16 above.  If we were not going to see our son in Elizabethtown, we would definitely not be this far north.  Tom keeps talking about doing some sightseeing in Lexington, but somehow I just cannot get excited about going out in 16 degree weather to seeing anything.  Talk to you soon.  Patty & Tom

Savannah, GA

We have enjoyed ourselves here very much.  The weather here has been gorgeous.  Mid 60's to low 70's.  We have finally made it to the Atlantic Ocean.  We took a tour in downtown Savannah and enjoyed just looking at all the old houses.  They sure are gorgeous.  The cuisine was yummy!  We just went to Wormsloe Plantation, or what is left of it, It is the old plantation in Savannah.  There were 400 oak trees planted down the length of the driveway.  It is so beautiful when you drive down it.  They form a natural canopy.  We went to Tybee Island Beach and walked the beach of the Atlantic.  We saw the most haunted house in the world, at least that is what they say.  It is filmed all the time.  The little red one.  Is the oldest house in Savannah.  The Pirates cove  is also supposed to be haunted.  To say that Savannah has its share of ghosts would be right on.  We also went to Polaski Federal Monument Park.  During the Civil war this fort was occupied by rebel forces but fell to union troups with superior long range canons.  It was built to protect the mouth of the Savannah river.

On our way through Florida

We quickly drove through Louisianna and Mississippi.  The most I could say about those states was they were cold and very wet.  It rained nonstop.

In Panama City, we went to Ripley's Believe it Or Not.  This gentleman was the tallest man to ever live.  Sure makes me look little.   And here I thought my college professor who was 7 ft. tall made me feel small.  The beaches in Mexico Beach are so white they look like snow from a distance. This is on the Golf side.Did you know that Ponderosa Pines grow there all over just like back at home, except for one difference.  They bundle the needles and use them instead of beauty bark.  I think this is a good thing.  It sure would be a cheaper, and lets face it, nothing will grow under pine needles.  They put about 6" layer around their shrub areas.  It actually does not look bad.  Those palm trees were just so cool, they looked so almost man-made.   To perfect.  They really are beautiful.  God really is creative and very artistic in his designs.

The most I can say about Tallahassee is they have a good hospital.  We spent the better part of a day there.  I had been running a fever around 103 for several days.  I could not get it to break.  It is just a virus.  It is NOT the flu.  It should have only lasted about 3 days.  I am now going on 8 days.  I am getting really good at ibuprofen an tylenol.  It is getting old.  It makes site seeing really hard to do.  My energy level is zero.  

Our friends in San Antonio

Archie & Gail have been wonderful.  I learned how to splint a chicken.  Yes, the chicken had a bad foot, so Archie and I played doctor and created a plaster splint and within the week Phyllis the chicken was able to walk without the cast.  Pretty cool, huh!  We thought so.  Gail got these chickens because their hairdoos are just like hers, or did she get her hair cut just like the chickens.  I guess that is asking which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Heh, she even blow drys the chickens topnots when they get to wet.  What can I say.  Gail loves her chickens.
Teddy has decided that this is how he likes to watch the world go by.  He jumps up on a stool and rests his head on the counters so he can keep an eye on everybody.

We got a chance to visit with Shirley Stewart, she used to live across from us on Irene Pl.  She has had some health issues, but is now in the hands of a competent doctor, so we expect to see her health get better soon.  We enjoyed visiting with her.  Talk to you soon.  We are heading east finally.

Corpus Christi, TX

We took a few days and drove down to Corpus Christi, Texas to just see what the area was like.  We decided that we really like the area, especially Port Aransas.  We went to several museums and saw the U.S. Lexington and many different types of planes.  We went to an aquarium where we got to see dolphins up close and personal.  That was so cool.  The queen's gown was awesome!  We saw replicas of the Pinta and the Santa Maria. They definately needed repairs.  Oh, My!  We loved the entrance to Corpus Christi.  That is the mermaid statue.  Isn't she beautiful.

Christmas time

We had a lovely Christmas with our friends in Bulverde and their extended families. Archie & Gail have been very kind to let us become an extended part of their family.   We spent a day in Fredericksburg and had a lovely day with their family.  Teddy found a friend.  We put our little Xmas tree in the motor home.  You can see Gail got what she wanted for Xmas, a gun, keys and a really big bra!!  She is one funny lady.  We love her, though.